choral

Melanie | Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)

Melanie Safka was only 22 when she performed at Woodstock. Prior to that appearance, the largest audiences she had faced were the intimate crowds at Greenwich Village folk clubs such as Café Wha? and the Bitter End.

Her appearance at the festival was basically a fluke. The Woodstock organizers had an office in the same NYC building as Melanie’s manager, Peter Schekeryk (who would ultimately marry Melanie). Very early in the planning process, before the organizers had lined up some of the major acts who ultimately performed at Woodstock, Peter asked them whether Melanie could appear at the festival, and they essentially said “sure, whatever”. Given all the chaotic, last minute changes to the running order, it was not clear that Melanie would even get a shot at performing. But on the first night of the festival, the storm rolled in, and the Incredible String Band and several other artists refused to go on in the inclement weather. As a solo act with only an acoustic guitar, Melanie was an easy setup, so she was thrust onstage on very short warning. She didn’t even have a prepared set-list; instead, she apparently played every song she knew that night.

Melanie has described herself as so terrified that she basically had an out-of-body experience as she took the stage and confronted a half million people, arrayed on the hillside before her. But unbeknownst to her, the Hog Farm (the informal “Please Force” for the concert) had been passing out candles to the audience, in an attempt to keep spirits up during the rainstorm. The audience started lighting their candles as Melanie’s performance progressed, and something about that connection with the audience transported her an almost fugue-like state for the balance of her performance. Years later, when she saw some archival footage of her performance, Melanie was shocked by how long she had been onstage. Although Melanie wrote “Lay Down” soon after Woodstock, it wasn’t released until 1970.

Melanie’s Woodstock performance was the first widespread example of a concert audience lighting candles en masse, a tradition that has been passed down from Bic lighters to iPhones.

The first 1:48 of the recording is a spoken-word prologue, describing the Woodstock candles-in-the-rain experience. [On the single, the “Candles” portion was released as the B-side, which was an interesting A&R decision, if nothing else].

The song proper finally commences after two minutes, with a dramatic cold open by the Edwin Hawkins Singers, belting out the chorus. Melanie then sings the much quieter, folkier verse alone. This gospel/folk alternation continues for the rest of the song, with a dynamic range that prefigures the standard grunge template of two decades later. The song ends with an extended gospel outro, loosely organized around call/response and an improvised vocal vamp.

The outro [which was omitted from both the single and the LP, but is captured in the 9-minute master being discussed here] has its own fascinating back-story: Apparently, the entire vocal track was recorded in a single take! The choir had rehearsed a much shorter outro, but during their first take in the studio, the producer was so pleased with the vamp that the singers had settled into that he kept signalling for another go-round. A careful listener will hear several junctures [5:45, 6:05, 6:15, 6:46, 7:10, etc.] where Melanie and/or the choir subtly fumble the call/response handoff before recovering on the fly. Improvisation like this from a 40-voice SATB choir was possible only because the singers had spent countless hours in live worship settings following Edwin Hawkins (who played piano on the take) as he arranged on the fly.

The chorus (1:48) is in G major, with a strong mixolydian skew due to the bVII -> I backdoor cadence. The verse (2:12) is in E Aeolian, and the bridge (3:07) is in E Dorian.

For many more stories about this amazing recording – including how the 9-minute version saved a helicopter crew during the Vietnam War – check out Sam Tweedle’s detailed history.

Whitney Houston | I Love the Lord

“We may never see the likes of a Richard Smallwood in gospel music again … Smallwood was an innovative songwriter and director who blended skillfully the majesty of classical choral music with the Black church writ large,” (Journal of Gospel Music). “His songs and arrangements possess an intensity that crosses denominational boundaries. Whether Pentecostal, Baptist, AME, or CME, congregants know the catalog of Richard Smallwood. It has its own brilliance, its own timbre. You recognize it when you hear it.

… His music even made the silver screen; Whitney Houston and the Georgia Mass Choir sang his arrangement of “I Love the Lord,” recorded originally in the late 1970s by the Union Temple Young Adult Choir, for the 1996 holiday film The Preacher’s Wife.”

Richard Smallwood reported that “[The music supervisor for The Preacher’s Wife] told me ‘I Love the Lord’ was one of Whitney’s favorite songs and one that she had grown up singing in church,” (Brooklyn White-Grier). “It also was a song that she wanted to do in the movie. When I found out — excited is an understatement! One of my songs in a major motion picture sung by one of the greatest singers ever, was a dream I never thought was possible.”

Beginning in C major with a solo section for Houston, the tune swells with the addition of choir and string section as the tonality climbs to Db major at 1:29. The texture continues to strengthen through the 4:00 mark, where the track ends with a softer-spoken string section.

Juanita Bynum | I Don’t Mind Waiting

“Juanita Bynum and Jonathan Butler … took the stage to bring fans Gospel Goes Classical (2007), an event of praise, inspiration and encouragement,” (CrossRhythms). “Anointed minister, author, and singer Bynum was joined by contemporary jazz and gospel artist Butler to share new songs and fan favorites in classical music splendour.

The orchestra and choir were led by renowned arranger/conductor Dr. Henry Panion III (Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, The Winans). The extraordinary live performances of Bynum’s ‘One Night with the King’ and ‘Holy Lamb,’ and Butler’s ‘Falling In Love with Jesus’ and ‘Don’t You Worry’ were capped off with a very special duet … ‘I Don’t Mind Waiting.'”

Starting with a gentle, straightforward statement of the melody from Bynum, the arrangement grows in intensity throughout. Half a dozen half-step key changes cascade past us before all is said and done.

Frank Ticheli | Earth Song (Young New Yorkers Chorus)

American composer Frank Ticheli on his 2004 work, Earth Song: “‘ … the music … first appeared in a work called Sanctuary, for wind ensemble,'” (FredBock.com). “‘As I worked on that piece, I just kept thinking this music is just begging to be sung by a chorus. The music is so vocal in and of itself. It was also written during a time when we were sort of stuck in the Iraq War when everyone – regardless of what political side they were on – was tired of that war, and so Earth Song was written to be very pro-peace. I guess you could also say anti-war and anti-violence. It was a cry and a prayer for peace.

Earth Song means different things to different people. I know for me, it sprang out of an intense weariness of war and a wish for peace. The second half of the poem talks about music as a comforting force and a refuge. When I was bullied as a kid, music was my refuge. I often thought about bullies in relation to this piece as well, because that’s where violence starts. But music is a place where people can find acceptance and love – and it can often be their saving grace. And it’s not just choir that people can find that comfort – it’s band, it’s orchestra… it’s just people coming together to make music.'”

This 2025 performance by the Young New Yorkers Chorus was conducted by Justin Duckworth. Earth Song is built primarily in F major. But at 2:50, a soft-spoken but profound G major chord breaks the spell; a repeated E major chord then upends the tonality yet again as the piece draws to an end.

Many thanks to longtime contributor Mark B. for this beautiful piece — his fourth submission to MotD!

Sing, Be, Live, See.
This dark stormy hour,
The wind, it stirs.
The scorched earth
Cries out in vain:
O war and power,
You blind and blur,
The torn heart
Cries out in pain.
But music and singing
Have been my refuge,
And music and singing
Shall be my light.
A light of song
Shining Strong: Alleluia!
Through darkness, pain, and strife, I’ll
Sing, Be, Live, See…
Peace.

Brent Jones | Praise in the Choir Stand

“Recorded live at Friendship Baptist in Yorba Linda, California, Brent Jones and the Best Life Choir’s rafter-raising ‘Praise in the Choir Stand’ (2025) offers Sunday morning gospel chock full of R&B influences,” (Journal of Gospel Music). “There’s a swaggering confidence in Jones’s voice, a gospel impresario on the best of terms with the musicians, singers, and the congregation. The full-throated Best Life Choir—which is so good, it should have received co-billing on the album cover—thunders its support like an ‘80s mass choir, especially on the title track … Like Jones’ previous release Live Your Best Life, Praise in the Choir Stand offers the spiritual and physical thrill of a live gospel program.”

After a start in Bb minor, there’s a shift to C# minor at 1:28 which persists to the end — through a grand pause and a huge sonic buildup by the ensemble.

Rhythm of the Universe | Anthem for the World

In 2010, “a group of Berklee College of Music students set out to show just how powerful music can be,” (Berklee.edu). “The orginal spark came from Emir Cerman and he was joined in his quest by a group of fellow Berklee musicians. The result is Rhythm of the Universe, a musical collaboration project that brings together the voices and sounds of musicians from more than 90 different countries. ROTU was created to promote unity through music and further promote the value of music education … more than 300 Berklee students, from all walks of life, (were) involved in this project, creating ROTU’s “Anthem for the World”—a song written for the world, by the world.

ROTU has performed at (Boston’s) Symphony Hall alongside the Video Game Orchestra and Grammy Award-winning composer and conductor Alan Silvestri. More recently, the group performed as part of the 9/11 memorial event Massachusetts Remembers, on Boston’s Esplanade. It’s also used its influence, through a YouTube video, to raise awareness of the devastation following the October 2011 earthquake in Van, Turkey; that video received more than 80,000 views and was also picked up by more than 15 major news and music channels in Turkey, Germany, and France, reaching more than 50 million people. ‘We’re serving as a vehicle to show unity through music,’ said ROTU cofounder Gabriel Peguero. ‘To show that through this unity, collaboration is possible and together we can do great things,’ … As ROTU embodies this unity, by representing so many countries it is also an example of Berklee’s international reach.”

Starting in E minor, the ambitious track journeys through shifting textures and nods to multiple genres. At 2:03, a surprising whole-step downward key change brings a suddenly quieter accompaniment. At 3:10, the original key returns, then rises another half step to F minor at 4:56 leading up to the track’s closing. The final third of the video is devoted to the credits (along with some wonderful behind-the-scenes footage), which are as extensive as you’d expect for such a large project!

Many thanks to Julia B. for submitting this track — her first (and hopefully not last!) contribution to MotD!

Gospel Church | Anthem of Praise

” … composer, pianist, and arranger Richard Smallwood has clearly and solidly changed the face of gospel music,” (Kennedy Center). “He can impeccably blend classical movements with traditional gospel, and arrive at a mix that is invariably Smallwood’s alone. A diverse and innovative artist, Richard Smallwood has achieved many honors; Dove Awards and a Grammy also attest to his talents … Smallwood has been honored by the Smithsonian Institution as a ‘gospel innovator and songwriter,’ and his hometown, Washington, D.C. heralded two separate occasions as ‘Richard Smallwood Day,’ also, distinguishing him with the Mayoral Art Award for ‘precision and excellence in artistic discipline.'”

… His debut album, The Richard Smallwood Singers, spent 87 weeks on Billboard’s Gospel chart. “The next project, Psalms, received a Grammy nomination. Two years later, another nomination for Textures, the album that contained the classic ‘The Center of My Joy,’ penned by Richard Smallwood along with Bill and Gloria Gaither.” His career has only grown from there.

Gospel Church, a prominent French gospel ensemble, produced this video performance of Smallwood’s “Anthem of Praise” in late 2023. After a cinematic instrumental intro establishes the piece in Bb minor, the choir enters at 1:03. At 3:33, the arrangement transitions to Bb major; from there, there are half-step upward modulations with each successive vocal soloist, eventually landing in Db major. The final few seconds bring an emphasis on the original Bb, now clearly the implied relative minor even in the absence of any chord color.

George Frideric Handel | Messiah (fail)

Now that the holidays are over, it’s perhaps the least distasteful time of the year to post this monumental gaffe by an organist accompanying Handel’s Messiah (1741). This error wouldn’t have been possible during Handel’s lifetime, when the “transposition” function on pipe organs was still a few hundred years in the future. It all adds up to a category of “unintentional modulation” — one which we hope won’t grow much over time!

“Performing under pressure is hard, and there’s no doubt that accompanying a full choir is stressful even for the most unflappable of musicians,” (ClassicFM). “But this is just… something else.

During a performance of Handel’s Messiah, at that crucial moment at the end of the ‘Hallelujah’ Chorus when the choir and organ come together in four glorious final chords, this organist completely loses it. It seems they accidentally pressed the ‘transpose’ function on their instrument, only-just-and-only-sort-of recovering it by adding an unexpected seventh at the end, before finally landing on the tonic chord. We can all agree the choir deserves a huge pat on the back for holding it together.” The video is only 0:44 long; in the interest of safety, make sure you’re sitting down by about the 0:20 mark.

Martin Luther | A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (arr. Don Hart + David Wesley)

“No hymn is identified with the Protestant Reformation more than Martin Luther’s ‘A Mighty Fortress,’ (UMCDiscipleship.org). Luther (1483-1546) left a body of congregational songs that both defined the Lutheran confessional tradition and became truly ecumenical in influence … In addition to skills as a writer, translator and preacher, Luther was an amateur musician. His thirty-seven hymns stand alongside his theological writings and his translation of the Bible into German as testaments of his creativity and intellectual ability.

United Methodist Hymnal editor Carlton R. Young summarizes well Luther’s contribution to hymnody: he ‘wrote several original hymns and melodies, revised many Latin hymns to German texts set to adaptations of plainsong and folk melodies, and encouraged the composition of new texts and rhythmic hymn melodies. His 37 hymns and paraphrase are cast in simple, plain, and sometimes rough phrases and striking metaphors, qualities that are for the most part lost in English translations.’ Over 100 English-language versions of Luther’s hymn exist.”

An excellent example of the virtual/online choir trend which grew exponentially during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the contemporary arrangement for chorus, piano, brass, and percussion shifts up a whole step at 2:56.

America the Beautiful | United States Navy Band

“Jazz is America’s music and the U.S. Navy Band Commodores, the Navy’s premier jazz ensemble, have been performing the very best of big band jazz for the Navy and the nation for 50 years,” (US Navy Band). “Formed in 1969, this 18-member group continues the jazz big band legacy with some of the finest musicians in the world … The list of guest artists who have appeared with the Commodores reads like a who’s who of jazz and popular music: Ray Charles, Branford Marsalis, Clark Terry, Grover Washington Jr., Chris Potter, Jerry Bergonzi, Eddie Daniels, James Moody and many more.”

In an interview with the Navy’s publication Fanfare, alto vocalist Chelsi Vanderpol detailed some of her preparation process: “I get the opportunity to solo pretty regularly and, absolutely, I still get nervous! I think we all do — I don’t think that goes away. I just think you get better at hiding it … Einstein says something about energy not being able to be destroyed, but rather changed from one form to another. I think about that and try to change that nervous energy into power and excitement to share my message with the audience. I think what we do is so important and I think people need to hear it.”

“America the Beautiful” had a rather roundabout origin: Its lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and its music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward over several years during the 1890s, although Bates and Ward never met. The song wasn’t published until 1910. Among its many covers, the tune is perhaps most closely linked with Ray Charles, whose 1972 rendition was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2005. The Navy Band’s arrangement, recorded here in 2019, rises a whole step at 2:16.